Major Wind Power Transmission Line Approved by BLM

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) approved the TransWest Express transmission line, a power line that will move power from Wyoming to Arizona, Nevada, and California. The three gigawatts the line is capable of moving can power roughly 20 million homes, writes Gabriela Aoun Angueira in Grist.

According to Aoun Angueira, “The 18-year wait for this transmission line is a reminder of how complicated permitting processes can slow the country’s transition to clean energy.” Large projects like this are complicated by a lack of deadlines in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the fact that “transmission lines often cross multiple states, inviting opportunities for opposition and bureaucracy from multiple jurisdictions.”

As the article explains, “The TransWest Express could be particularly impactful for California, which has a goal of achieving 100 percent clean energy by 2045. To meet that goal, the state would need to retire fossil fuel sources like natural gas and coal plants while simultaneously accounting for increased power demand from sources like electric vehicles.”

See the source article for more information on the project and its proposed timeline.